The
Bodhrán Drum
Physical
description
The
bodhran is a circular frame drum which means that by family definition, the
depth of the shell is less than half of the width of the head.
There
are certainly bodhráns with deeper shells, these would technically fall into the
cylindrical drum category.The playing techniques for these longer drums are
identical to a regular bodhran however the drum shell may require to be
physically modified by a cut out or even a hole to allow the player's left hand
to access the rear of the skin.
Many
traditionally constructed bodhrans had an arrangement of crossbars on the back,
this could have been be a single bar, a 'T' shape or most commonly, a cross that
is centralised or offset. These bars can assist with the bracing of the left
hand, allowing greater pressure to be applied to the skin or to allow it to be
held when playing unmuted and in an 'open' style.
The
bars were there traditionally to help to maintain the circular shape of the drum
(riddle / sieve), however with the advent of modern laminate
construction
techniques, the bar on a drum of any reasonable quality is viewed as an optional
extra for playing purposes rather than a key structural element. and is rarely
seen on professional drums
Generally
the head diameter is usually in the range 14" to 20" and shell depth is in the
region 3" to 6", there are of course extreme depths and diameters and makers who
specialise in these, there are even egg shaped drums (that soiund amazing) but
these are relatively rare. The most common drums are circular with diameters 15"
to 18". The
shell tends to be one of the thicker of the frame drum family, 1/4" - 1/2" (7-15
mm-ish) - thicknesses are relatively common.
Construction
materials
The
wood used in the construction of a bodhrán shell can come from any type of
hardwood or other material, the majority of modern shells are constructed from a
number of layers of beech or birch ply, Maple is usually too hard fo the
tacks.
Because
of the depth of the standard shell, there is no significant shell (or air)
resonance to be accounted for so it only needs to be strong enough and capable
of accepting the bending processes and bearing the playing tensions. Aesthetics
are much more maker-specific and can vary greatly.
The
shell can be made of a single steamed & bent piece of wood or more commonly
are constructed as a series of laminated plies, glued around or inside a jig or
shape called a 'former'. Plies correctly constructed in a 'staggered' manner i.e
with joins not placed on top of each other, will usually be mechanically
stronger and more stable than a solid piece of wood. In a deeper shelled drum,
plies vs solid shell can also have an audible difference as can the choice of
material. See the Drumdojo section on Drum shell
construction for more detail.
Drums
commonly are available in tunable and untunable variations, a tunable drum will
usually have some form of mechanism that lifts up an inner ring to push the skin
upwards and apply tension, a second, rare type, pulls down an external flesh
ring with the skin attached for the same effect. The inner ring method (see
image) is by far the most common and there are many variations on both types.
'Visit the bodhrán tuning section
Drum
head / drum skin
a
bodhrán head is generally made of goatskin although any animal hide can
potentially be used. It is not uncommon to hear of kangaroo, calfskin, deer and
even dog
skin being used. It is also becoming common to hear of bodhráns headed with
a plastic (mylar) head. Both natural and synthetic materials have a range of
advantages and disadvantages. I haven't yet come across a synthetic headed
bodhrán in a session Ireland.
With
the bodhrán, the skin is the most critical element to the sound of the drum, and
the skinis best when 'played in' before the drum achieves its optimum sound.
This process of ' playing in happens through the playing of the drum and breaks
up the fibres that keep the skin rigid. A thin skin will require less playing in
and will deliver a warm accurate tone, rich in overtones, a thicker skin will be
more 'thumpy' and more 'rounded'. A thin skin will be more flexible with a
greater octave range than a thick skin There will always be exceptions with
individual skins & the makers' processing has a huge effect. A soft skin
will deliver less noise from contact with the Tipper than a hard skin and will
be 'warmer'. Often these can sacrifice the sound of the drum's attack to get a
softer bass.
There
is a trend nowdays away from thick and hard skins toward the use of thinner
skins. Many hold the Lambeg skin preparation processes as being ideal also for
thin bodhrán skins. This is in keeping with contemporary and emergent playing
styles. In Lambeg processing the skin is scraped down to very a thin layer, and
skins of 0.5mm and less are common. Lambeg skins are only made in N Ireland and
there are only maybe a half a dozen Lambeg makers who can produce these. This
puts the skins and drums which bear them, at a premium.
To
prepare a skin for use on a drum it needs to be cleaned so that all fatty and
other tissue deposits are removed from the inside of the skin and the hair is
removed from the outside. Most bodhrán makers have particular methods or
substances that they employ but that part of the process is generally somewhat
shrouded in secrecy.
Some
research shows up a range of methods from burying it in the ground to soaking
for days in baths of oak bark or lime to depilate and cure the skin. Although we
know certain facts about the processes, there are further skin conditioning
processes which are applied but it is rare for a bodhrán maker to share his skin
'recipe' in its entirety.
if I
can quote second hand from a well known N Irish bodhrán maker "I taught him
everything he knows about bodhrán skins, but not everything I know!" There
are many myths and countermyths out there be careful what you do with a skin
:)
Temperature
effect.
A
natural skin head will always seek to equalise with humidity levels, the amount
of moisture in the air is the #1 cause of flabby or over-tight drums. Hot and/or
dry weather will make the skin tighter and higher in pitch as moisture is taken
from the skin, conversely damp and moisture-laden air will make the skin looser
and lower in pitch. Hot and humid weather will lower the pitch most as
moisture in the air has a greater effect combined with heat. As the skin gets
played in over time, it becomes more stable in terms of the width of the range
of the fluctuations and more forgiving but it will still be susceptible to
ambient effects.
On a
non-tunable drum, the way to counteract these variations in pitch . is either by warming the skin to raise the
pitch or dampening the skin to lower it. See
tuning. Water should be applied sparingly to the skin on
the inside of the drum, a plant mister is useful.
Please
only use water to dampen the skin, there is a romantic notion that using
Guinness or beer on the skin is the way to go, don't do it!! using beer
will rob the skin of the natural oils that keep it supple and will eventually
stink to high heavens.
If
heating your drum over, or in front of, a naked flame, keep your hand between
the flame and the skin to gauge how close you safely want to be. The heat &
friction from the players hand when playing is often sufficient to warm up and
dry out a skin and a player may need to continually adjust the tuning.
A
plastic/mylar head is not susceptible to these variations in ambient temperature
or hand-heat, this is by far its biggest selling / purchasing point particularly
in arid areas of the world. Any player with a drum headed with an artificial
head will most likely tell you that where they had a choice between the two
materials, this was their reason for choosing that particular head type. A
plastic head will stretch and lower in pitch over time, they are not
user-replacable. A natural skin tunable head is generally the choice for
professional players.
The
subjective and most important issue of course is the sound of the drum, a mylar
head will sound different to a natural one, I'm not saying worse or better, just
different, they tend to be thinner and livelier with more overtones. I have
heard the term 'plasticky' used as a descriptor but have yet to find a suitable
definition for this word or the sound it attempts to describe.
At the
end of the day, the choice of skin is entirely yours based on the factors
that you have to consider based on your personal tastes and the
conditions in which you intend to play the instrument.
The
bodhrán is a super instrument capable of almost infinite variation. I describe
it as a chatty wee drum but it is capable of tremendous power when used well. It
translates to professional performance superbly, mics beautifully and 'rattles
yer windys'
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Technical 
